Why Characters Are Prioritized, According to a Commercial Manga Artist Praised for 'Creating Compelling Characters' [Character Recipes for Successful Pitches]

Hello, I am the manga artist 9℃.

In manga, the most important thing is the character.

...Have you ever heard editors or professional manga artists say that?
It seems that is indeed the case.

Manga editorial departments basically look for people who can draw compelling characters.
That is the shortest path to becoming a professional, and it is almost a mandatory condition for getting your work published.

As I mentioned in my previous article on storyboarding—where I discussed how the appeal of a manga is determined by “storytelling ability × direction ability”—character creation is one element of storytelling ability. As I wrote in that article, “it is difficult to level up your storytelling ability in a short period of time,” and my view is that you cannot suddenly become able to draw compelling characters overnight.

I myself might be someone who can create characters “because I am a genius” or “just because.”
However, what is called talent or sense is merely 'one type of individuality' in creative activities, and I do not believe that manga is a job where you cannot make it as a professional unless you are a genius.

If you understand the structure that creates appeal and can carefully identify your own current challenges, I believe that improvement is possible. Therefore, in this article,

• What is character appeal in the first place?

• How do you make a character stand out?

• I want to compete with my story and world-building, but...

• Where should I start with character creation?!

I would like to talk about hints for solving these kinds of stumbling blocks, using my own work and other famous works as examples.

From the perspective of someone on the 'drawing side', I will verbalize and systematize this to achieve as much reproducibility as possible!

Character Appeal = Intentional Discrepancy

First, let's define the basic premise: what is character appeal? Simply put,

“Character appeal is having a discrepancy.” And it is determined by
how well you can direct that discrepancy.

I will explain in detail.

The essence of a story is a 'journey,' and the essence of a character is a 'guide'

This is a big topic, but let's go back to the fundamentals: what do people expect when they seek out stories?
Of course, there are individual differences, but broadly speaking, I think people have a desire to
“experience the unknown vicariously within a range they can understand and imagine”.
There are people living lives that we ourselves would not or could not lead, unfolding in interesting ways. Stories were born from the joy of watching that from the outside, and the joy of depicting it.

Readers see the world of the story through the eyes of the characters and walk through the world of the story through the actions of the characters.
To enjoy it that way, characters need the power to create the expectation that“this character will take me (the reader) to an enjoyable place”.

And that is the very reason whythe appeal of a character is prioritized.
You wouldn't like a tour guide who only takes you to boring places, would you? And if possible, you want someone who is fun to walk with.

Stories are born from the design of 'discrepancies'

A discrepancy isbetraying the expectationof 'this is how it would be if you thought about it normally'.

You might have the impression that manga artists are better off being weird people with unique sensibilities, but that is half wrong. A sharp sensibility is a weapon, but
it is stronger for a manga artist to also know what is 'normal'.

Only here can the reader experience the joy of 'being taken to a place they don't know.' This is the moment a story is born.

Of course, it's not just about continuing to betray expectations.
By having asense of convictionthat feels like 'an action that is natural for the character themselves' in the way they betray, and by making theconsistencyof 'this character acts this way because they think this way' visible, the reader learns thejoy that can be obtained from the same workand thinks, 'I want to read more'.

Therole of the character is to support that sense of conviction and consistency, and the role of the story is
a stage designed for discrepancies to make the character stand out.

Case Study: 'Meguro-san wa Hajimete janai'

It's embarrassing to use my own work as an example, but...
I'm going to talk about how it's strong if you canstage 'this is how this main character is quirky' by the beginning, at least by the third page.

Here are the first three pages of the first chapter of Meguro-san.

Setting aside the clumsiness of the art and such, the reputation for this'hook'was very good from the editors.
The moment a romance begins with a 'heroine who can say things like this.' Are you curious about what happens next?

Readers are busy, and if they don't know how to enjoy it, they will leave immediately.
You need to lead them so they keep reading bypresenting the expected discrepancy as quickly as possibleand drawing their interest with the guidance of an appealing character.

Character standing out = Bias in choices

Now that we understand the essence of charm and the roles of characters and story, let's refine the details a bit more.

I mentioned earlier that "betraying what one would normally think" is key, but in reality,
there is no such thing as a 'normal personality'.

In the real world, 'middle-of-the-road adjustment' is a quality that can make one an excellent balancer, but in a story, it is judged as'a person without a strong character'.as a verdict.

I mentioned earlier that you should support a sense of conviction and consistency through your characters, but that means
determining the coordinates of how far they deviate from the middle.That is the essence of character creation.

Human drama is 'deviating from the mundane through detours'

Since I am a manga artist who focuses on human comedies, my perspective leans that way, but...
Human drama is designed to'intentionally complicate the story'.

If it were a story about meeting, falling in love, getting together, and living happily ever after, you could tell it in one page.
However, in most cases, we draw it for much longer.
Even if you summarize the plot and every work is basically about meeting, falling in love, getting together, and living happily ever after.

Everyone wants to see it, don't they? The journey along the way.
Where compelling charactersmake biased choices,leading to struggles, or conversely, successfully navigating difficult challenges.
They enjoy the fact that they don't take the fastest and most efficient route.

The foundation of a story can be mundane as long as the characters are well-defined.
In fact, the accessibility of the entry point attracts readers, and on top of that,the bias in their choices creates originality.

Some creators might think, 'To create originality, I need to come up withamazing settings or world-building'.That is not wrong, and it can be a very powerful weapon. (Though it is difficult to pull off effectively.)
But in fact,
originality can be demonstrated even on top of situations and developments that everyone knows.That was the point.

Case Study: 'Girlfriend, Girlfriend'

Let's take a popular romantic comedy as an example.

Writing it out like this makes it sound like a crazy development... but when you actually read it in the manga, it's a very refined first chapter.
First of all, the main characters, or rather the atmosphere of the work itself, isa bit on the silly side.This is important. If the sense of reality were too strong, the disgust toward the situation of 'two-timing' would win out.By telling the reader, 'When reading this work, put the small details aside',they can enjoy it with peace of mind.

And the direction of character design within such a short space is brilliant.
Despite being a series of outrageous choices and actions,there is apersuasivenessthat makes you accept, 'Well, this character would do that...', and it makes you excited to see what they will do next.

It was a work with excellentways to deviate from stereotypesandways to build anticipation,centered on character charm.

Character-driven stories are resilient against running out of ideas

This is about the benefits for the author when prioritizing character appeal. A wall that is easy to hit while continuing to create is
running out of ideas.

If you can draw compelling characters, you are less likely to run out of ideas. As I said before, bias in choices creates drama.

Even cliché themes and developments can be crafted as 'this is what happens when they do it,' and that in itself holds real appeal.

Moreover, thankfully, compelling characters grow throughout the story. Characters who have grown will create even more new drama.

Developments are driven by 'choices' and 'influence'

Characters think and act based on biased sensibilities. Then, they meet and interact with other characters who have different biases, stir up emotions, and create drama. This is the fundamental premise of storytelling.

At this time, if you are drawing characters well, influence occurs. This means
by coming into contact with the thoughts and actions of others, one's own sensibilities are shaken, and changes occur in patterns.

If you can depict the drama of influence, you can give meaning and flavor to the very act of 'meeting and interacting with others.' This is a very powerful weapon that allows you to
make a story work as entertainment without needing to cause flashy incidents or events.

Case Study: 'Anpanman'

A well-known masterpiece. I'm talking about the anime. First, as a premise, the 'storyline is almost the same every episode' in Anpanman, right? To let children enjoy it with peace of mind, it is provided as a homogeneous comedy of good triumphing over evil that

carefully follows 'conventions'. Within that, it is 'character-driven'
content that adds color to each episode through the activities of its unique characters.

Among them, there are occasionally episodes with a different flavor. It is the series featuring the characters 'Baikinman' and 'Madame Nan'.

...I really love that episode; it's so cute and fun. It's different from the usual flow of good triumphing over evil, but the kindness and themes of the Anpanman world are certainly the same. And I think it's wonderful that this episode is likely 'a chapter born precisely because the story has continued for a long time.' Baikinman also

changes his actions depending on how he is treated by whom = he is influenced
. This is a good example of an episode born from that, which adds depth to the story
.

Practice! Steps for creating characters for approved projects

Up to this point, I have conveyed: - Why character appeal is necessary - The true nature of character appeal.

From here on is the practical section. So, how do you create a character with appeal... or rather,

a character that makes it easier for a project to be approved!? That's what you're curious about, right?

I am the type of person who can create characters somewhat intuitively, but this time I will introduce the recipe that even I use when I
intentionally craft characters to make a pitch more likely to be accepted. In short, it is a
procedure for character creation with a specific purpose in mind.

1. Genre/Motif

First, decide on the genre or motif you want to draw. It can be broad, like romantic comedy, school life, or occult-leaning; that is fine.
The main goal here is to
identify your target audience. It is about deciding who you want to draw for and what they will enjoy.

2. Content of Service Scenes

Envision the scenes that will be the highlights. It is too early for character creation!
If it is a serialized work, think about the content that will always show this kind of scene in every chapter to delight the readers. It is basically the same for a one-shot.
I like to divide highlights into large, medium, and small. The ratio should be about 2 (large panels for climaxes or punchlines) : 3 (scenes that show off drama or shifts in development) : 5 (staging that makes them likable or interesting even when doing ordinary things).

3. Relationships

Decide on a convenient relationship to make those service scenes work.
For example, if you decide to draw lots of scenes with a "cute heroine with a broken sense of personal space" in a rom-com,
creating a setting like "a childhood friend who went abroad when they were little has moved in next door, hasn't forgotten their childhood marriage promise, and has become overly touchy due to living abroad" makes it easy to produce many of the envisioned service scenes.
Conversely, if you make the heroine a "shy, beautiful girl in the same class who you have never spoken to," it becomes difficult to connect her to the envisioned service scenes, and even if you do draw them, a sense of discomfort will arise from the character inconsistency.

4. Surface Personality (Behavioral Patterns)

Finally, we reach the stage that feels like character creation.
The first thing to decide is the surface personality, such as actions, speech, and facial expressions.
Assign a character who can easily take advantage of the situations envisioned up to step 3.
Actually, if steps 1 through 3 are well-solidified, the actions you want them to choose are decided by process of elimination, so you do not have to worry too much here.
In the example of the heroine with a broken sense of personal space, images like "immediately hugs people, cheerful and innocent, devoted" come to mind.

5. Inner Personality (Motivational Patterns)

This is a slightly difficult point.
If I may be so bold, I feel that characters in works that feel weak often lack this.
There is no "motive" for their "actions".
Alternatively, it can be rephrased as only setting evaluations or personalities seen from the outside by others (popular, unsociable, smart, etc.), without setting the habits of thought seen from the inside from their own perspective.
If you can solidify the inner content that supports the actions set up to step 4 to some extent, there will be less character inconsistency, and you will be able to make them make character-appropriate choices in any situation.

6. Power Balance Adjustment

Finally, make adjustments. Surprisingly important.
What this means is that in human drama, "the side holding the initiative also loses sometimes" can be a source of appeal.
Scenes where an invincible, perfect hero is disarmed and gets a heart-throb from the heroine's unexpected actions or words are great, aren't they?

In other words, when creating a character, it is important to leave room to "lose occasionally".
Without this room, influence is hard to occur.
For the heroine with a broken sense of personal space, it could be "getting flustered and blushing when touched by the other person."
This not only adds vulnerability to the heroine, but also allows for adjusting the male protagonist's personality to be a special counter to the heroine.
"Even though he usually brushes off her touch coldly, he senses it and is kind when she is truly anxious and about to cry." Great!

From here on, I will introduce the actual character creation procedure I followed.
Since the order is different from the example above, this is just to show that such things are possible.

Case Study: "Meguro-san wa Hajimete ja nai"

① Genre/Motif
Let's draw a romantic comedy! Since "non-virgin" characters are often looked down upon, I want to draw a story where a non-virgin is loved.
② Relationship
I want to draw a couple with a gap in experience. The boy is naive, has zero romantic experience, and they don't quite click.
③ Service Scenes
I want to make the heroine's sexual openness—or rather, her skewed sense of it—the interesting part. On top of that, I want to depict interactions where the protagonist doesn't just think "Lucky!" but conveys that he accepts her and wants to cherish her.
④⑤ Surface & Inner Personality
A heroine whose thoughts are unreadable. She doesn't take dating or relationships with the opposite sex seriously, doesn't care much about what others think, but lacks agency.
Naive, lacks self-confidence, and is bad at communication, but has her own way of thinking and sincerity, and acts or speaks impulsively.
⑥ Power Balance Adjustment
The heroine gradually opens her heart to the protagonist's straightforward feelings, kindness, and respectful attitude, and begins to face her own inner self, which she had previously ignored.

"Meguro-san wa Hajimete ja nai" started with doodles and small ideas before the manga, so it began with just the feeling of "This kind of relationship is nice, isn't it?"
When turning it into a manga, I rethought and organized what the core of the story would be.

Case Study: "Oshi no Seitai Hiroimashita"

① Service Scenes
I want to draw a cute freeloader guy!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to draw a fictional life where a freeloader is in the house!!!!!!!!!!!
② Surface Personality
Always in a good mood, willingly does housework or things he can do when he has time, and cheekily asks for things that cost money. He's taking advantage of her.
③ Relationship & Surface Personality (Protagonist side)
A female protagonist who gets annoyed by the freeloader but can't bring herself to kick him out.
Responsible and good at taking care of others, but has a bit of loneliness and is weak to straightforward expressions of affection.
④ Genre/Motif
Working adult. To make the existence of a freeloader pop, I used "fandom/oshi" as the theme.
To avoid starting with romance, I made it "I only liked his voice" = a voice actor character.
⑤ Inner Personality
Gradually reveal the reasons why he is a freeloader.
Since the goal this time is to stop him from being a freeloader, I'll leave the prospect of him being influenced and returning to society.

"Oshi no Seitai Hiroimashita" was a project that started with a pitch saying, "I have thiskind of character design I love!!"So, the order is quite different from the usual pattern.
This is an example that shows it is possible, depending on the case, tothink of a project that can utilize this kind of character appeal.…to do it that way.

Finishing Touches: How to Increase Character Appeal?

Lastly, a supplement, but this is the most important part.

When you've been told that the character you made is a bit weak...
Even if you're told to "figure out how to make them more effective," you might wonder what you should do...
When that happens, check if you have covered these points.

・Appeal = Do they have the power to keep the reader interested?

Can you create expectations for what's next through the surprise generated by biased choices?
Or, even if they are easy to understand in terms of "what they are likely to do," are you providing an interest that makes the reader want to come back and see them again and again?

・Have you designed "normal times" and "extraordinary times" for the character?

This is the concept known as a "gap."
I touched on this a little in the explanation of creating surface personality, but it is powerful if you can prepare a deviation that is just slightly off from expectations.
It is even better if you can design conditions for activation only during "extraordinary times," such as "a side they only show to the protagonist."

・If there is no "sense of pressing the switch" within one episode, it is weak.

Whether you have pressed the"switch that toggles between 'normal times' and 'extraordinary times'"mentioned above means whether you have created a payoff (climax) as entertainment.
If you haven't included"another side they showed because they started to become intimate"in the story, the impression will be thin. In that case, you need to make adjustments such as:
・Reposition the switch to a shallower level (make them a bit easier）
・Gain the power to press the switch (change the other character's personality to improve compatibility）
・Increase the number of switches (scatter opportunities throughout the story development）

・Discomfort in characters and stories comes from "weak motivation."

There may be many people who are at the stage where the character is not "weak" but "inconsistent."
Building a character so that there is no contradiction between their actions and their inner selfrequires high-level judgment.
If you have an editor in charge, please consult them. No one is "normal," but if you mix the opinions of multiple people, you can align a common understanding to some extent of "this kind of person would do this," which reduces contradictions.

And, please make an effort to be able toexplain the motivation for the character's actions, even if it's an afterthought.If you can verbalize "I think the character was thinking this here," you will often notice, "Wait... then, wouldn't it be more natural to act like this instead of that?"

"Everyone thinks about something and acts on it, and the result of that becomes the plot."
"Characters are not entities that follow the plot, but entities that shift and determine the plot."
I think it's good to always be conscious of this.

I would like to cover the contents of this section in more detail at some point.

Summary

I've written quite a lot. Aren't you tired...?

This time, I talked about why character appeal is important and how to direct that character appeal.

Speaking for myself, I have always liked people.
And, although it's embarrassing to admit... rather than interacting with them, I like to "observe people."

The cool parts of people, the cute parts, the parts you can respect, the parts you feel don't match your own...
I think being able to see it all, love it, and move your pen is what leads to "drawing characters that are compelling."
I can't promise you'll be able to do it suddenly, but I would be happy if you could approach it from those angles as well.

Next Preview

I've talked about how to create characters, but of course, commercial serialization doesn't run on that alone.

Being able to create characters allows you to "create projects that get approved" and "entertain readers," but
it doesn't necessarily equal "the work will sell" or "the serialization will continue."Right?

And of course, there are times whena serialization isn't decided right away.The anxiety and impatience as you get rejected over and over and your savings dwindle... would you like to take a peek at that?

So, the theme for next time is

The Reality of Non-Serialization Periods and Economic Crisis

is the topic.

I am a self-proclaimed "artist who doesn't end even if I don't have a hit"... but I am also hanging on by a thread!
I will talk about meaningful ways to struggle to "not end" and how to make decisions on what to keep and what to discard.

Thank you for reading until the end.
Look forward to the next one!

9°C